Billiard or pool table bed.



E. T. BURROWES.'

BILLIABD 0B POOL TABLE BED. APPLIOATION'HLBD 1113.121, 1914.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

MKM

OTO-LITHO. WASHINGTON. D. C.

lIO

1 the base.

narran sin EDWARD T. BURROWS, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

BILLIARDOR POOL TABLE BED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, t9il5.

To all whom it may concern:

Be `it known that I, EDWARD T. BUR- Rowrs, a citizen of the United States, resid-` ing at Portland, 1n the county of Cumbercially to beds for billiard and pool tables of the light, portable type intended for household use.

ln carrying out my invention, I provide a toraminous meta-l base, preferably of steel, the peri''orations in the base being arranged so that the expansion and contraction of the metal, due to changes in temperature, will be taken up locally in the spaces formed bythe perforations, thus allowing the base to be made oi' substantially the same idimensions as the interior of the trame without danger of exerting injurious pressure against the side bars or rails of the tables, and without danger of warping the base. The base is also provided with a bead near its edges which forms a more or less compressible connection between the bedA and side bars. Jfacilitating the fitting of the bed to the rails, and also kcompensating for any expansion of the base as a whole which is not taken up locally in the pertorations. A rigid composite bed is formed by Vplacing upon this base a molded top of plastic material, which is preferably interlocked with the base, this top, after hardening, having its upper surface ground off to make smooth playing surface.

ln order that the metal ot the base may `be 'free to expand and contract locally into and out of the pertorations therein, and also in order that such expansion may not crowd the plastic material upwardly and thus affect the smoothness of the plastic top, the perforations in the base 'are kept clear of the plastic material. and preferably the material of the ytop is ralso formed with openings registering with the `openings in Then the composite bed thus "formed is tted to 'a' table rameya layeror Sheet of suitable material, such as cloth or liber-board, is interposed between the top and the billiard cloth and thus a smooth playing surface is provided over the perforated top. Beds thus made are light, portable and durable, and they may be sold and put into use as soon `as the plastic material `has hardened and the beds have otherwise been finished and assembled.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the invention, Figure l is a top plan View of a billiard table bed embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is a section through the same on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; F ig. 3 is a section, vonan enlarged scale, through a portion of the table on the line 3--3 of F ig. 1, showing the bed fitted to the table; and, li ig. l is a horizontal section through a modified form ci table bed.

Referring to Figs. l to 3, inclusive, of the drawing, A indicates fa billiard table bed `as a whole, which is composed of a foraminous sheet metal base a `and a top a Vof plastic material. The base a may be of one continuous piece of metal, but in rFigs. l and 2, it is showncomposed of the sections l, 2, `and 8, suitably secured together by bolts or rivets 4f which extend through downward-ly turnedV integral `flanges 5 at the abutting edges of the sections. These flan-geg form transverse girder supports for the bed. The sides andv ends of the bed are bent upwardly, as shown `at 6, to form a `bead and thence downwardly, as shown at 7, to form an attaching flange at the margins of the bed. The base is made of a size to fit snugly within the sides and ends "8 and `9 of the frame, and the arch or bead 6 forms a connection between the flange and the body of the base which may be bent slightly, if desired, to facilitate fitting the flanges to the frame. Also the bead 6 forms a connection which will yield to some extent if the Vbase as a whole expands, and thus the thrust from such expansion will not cause injurious pressure lagainst the Vside and @11d rails, or cause warping of the bed.

The baseg-is Aclosely perforated with narrow islots 10, which preferably extend lengthwise of the base, and are arranged in staggered relation, as shown in Fig. 1,

- would be the case with a continuous or unles broken base. Owing to the staggered re-` lation of the slots, which preferably slightly over-lap, it will be seen that the pressure from expansion at any point toward the. sides of the bed will be exerted in line with a plurality of perforations, and hence the metal will be crowded intoY the perforations andthe expansion will be taken up locally instead of beingtrans- Vmitted to the edges of the bed. The metal base is covered by a layer of plastic material a which is molded onV tothe upper surface ofthe base` within the area surrounded by the marginal bead 6, but this; top of plastic material does not fill the perforations in the base. It will be Vevident that ifthehardened plastic material filled the perforations, this would interfere with the expansion of the metal into the openings,V

and also the expansion and contraction of the metal might tend to cause local fracturevand upward bulging of thematerial `on the surface of the top, which would interfere with the smoothness of the-playing surface. For these reasons, the perforations 10 in the base are kept clearv of the plastic material, and thismay be done by placing pins temporarily in the openings .l0 while the plastic material is being applied, or the plastic material may be cut out of the openings after the material has set. I In order to secure the plastic material of the top firmly to the base, the edges l()a of the openings v10 are punched upwardly and turned slightly outwardly, as shown in Figs.

V2 and 3, so that these edges will interlock with the plastic material,` In making the composite bed, the metal base is first'asseinbled, as shown in Fig. 2, and the plastic material is then applied, the perforations being kept clear, and the plastic material is then ground off to provide a true upper surface. Y

In order that the perforations in the bed may not interfere with the smoothness of the playing surface. a thin layer of suitable material 13, such as a fiber or cloth, is `laid over the surface ofthe plastic material before the billiard cloth 12 is applied. The bed is secured to the frame of the 'table by suitable means, such as wood screws 13, which pass through the flange 7.

ln Fig. 4: I have shown a modification in which the metal base is made of one con-V tinuous piece, divided into sections, however, byv transverse folds 14 in the. metal,

transverse girders for the bed. Also in this view, the edges of the perforations 10b are not turned upwardly so as to interlock with the cement orplastic ,material a2; but here and'there at a few pointsin vthe bed the plastic material is permitted to 'extend Vthrough the openingsin vthebase to lock the vplastic material Vof the top to the base.

lt is preferable, however, as illustrated inl the previously described figures. to keep all of the perforations clear of plastic material, and for that reason the interlocking of the base and-top Vby upward punching of the edges of the perforations is preferred. rl`he base, however,v may be made ina continuous piece, either with or without integralV girder supports', lsuitable,supporting means being provided, 'or itimay be made in several connected sections asvdescribed.

What l claim is:

l. A composite billiard tablehedV com-` prising a foraminous. sheet metal base and a top of plastic material molded thereon,

but not filling the perforations in the base.

but not filling the perforations in the base,

the edges of the openingsin the vbase being turned-upwardly and interlocked with the plastic material. f

4e. A composite billiard table bed comprising a sheet metal base havingv its playing area closely perforated with velongated slots or openings, and a top of plastic materialmolded thereon, but not filling said openings. Y.

5. A composite billiardftable bedv comprising a sheet metal `base having its Vplaying` area closely perforated with elongated slots vor openings, and a top of plastic material molded thereon,but not filling said openings, the edgesof the openings in the base being turned upwardly and interlocked with the plastic material.

Ar composite billiard table bed ,comprising a foraminous sheet metal base having inte 0;ral transverse girders and a top ofV plastic material molded on the base but not filling the perforations therein.

which folds project downwardly andform 7. A composite billiard table bed cornprising a foraminous sheet metal base hav-` ing its edges bent upwardly and thence downwardly to form acbead and .an attaching flange, and a top ofgplastic material moldedA on thebase. Y

8. A composite billiard table bed comprisingY a foraminousV sheet metal base divided transverselyinto several' sections,

the adjacent edges of the sections having downwardly turned fanges, said anges folnlng girde1s and the sides and ends of the base being bent upwardly and thence downwadly to form a bea-d and an attachange, and a top of plastic material molded on the base.

En testimony whereof I have aixed by signature, in presence of 'two Witnesses.

Y EDN/YARD T. BURROVVES.

Nitnessesz HOLLY D. LUTHER, GENEVIEVE D. ONEILL.

Genies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

v Washington, D. C. 

